The Triangle of Power
by DarkenedFantasy
Summary: Legend states that there is a materia trinity so powerful that whosoever unites the three shall be given power supreme. Read and review to find out how this legend plays into the forbidden romance of a princess reserved for a tyrant king and a knight.
1. Castle Nibel

**IluvAUs: **Okay, I'm here with a new fanfiction!

**ENTIRE FF7 Cast:** Not another one!

**Cloud: **What about 'His Own Worst Enemy'?

**IluvAUs:** I'll get to it shortly! Anyways, this is for **Princess of the Knight**'s fanfiction challenge number four. I saw the challenge a few months ago, and a few nights ago, it popped back into my head with all SORTS of ideas following it! So, without further ado, here's Aerith with a disclaimer.

**Aerith:** You know, this is the first time you've let me do the disclaimer. Usually you make Sephiroth or Vincent do the disclaimer. **Disclaimer:** IluvAUs owns absolutely nothing!

**IluvAUs:** Thanks, Aerith! Now, on with the show!

---

**Chapter One - Castle Nibel**

Princess Aerith sat in the rickety, chocobo-drawn carriage, silent tears flowing down her face. She had been dreading this day since she was fourteen. She was told then that when it was her sixteenth birthday, she would be taken from her home to Castle Nibel to be married to the infamous tyrant, King Sephiroth. She had tried to run away so many times, but she was caught every one of them, and now, it was too late.

She sighed heavily, and pulled aside the curtain blocking her view of outside. She saw one of the chocobo-back guards her parents had sent to keep her from escaping riding at a leisurely pace alongside the carriage against the backdrop of mountains. She turned her gaze forward, and saw it, rising rapidly from behind the mountains: Castle Nibel.

_My new home._ she thought sadly. _Or maybe I should say my new prison._

She felt the carriage's motion stop, and pulled her head inside, hastily wiping away her tears.

"What is your business here?" she heard a guard ask.

"We bring the newest of His Majesty, King Sephiroth's wives." the driver apparently replied.

The guard must have been satisfied with the driver's reply, because Aerith heard a loud clanking noise, and within a minute, the carriage was moving again.

As they drew closer and closer, the castle became larger and more forbodeing in Aerith's mind. She was already imagining what the king would look like, and what would happen to her.

_I may be a princess, but I feel more like a slave being taken to their new master. And I may well be a slave, if half the things I've heard about King Sephiroth are true. Well, I know __one__ thing for sure: I've got to find some way to get out of here._

The carrriage came to a halt, and the side door opened to allow Aerith to step out. As she did so, she squinted against the setting sun, and took a closer look at Castle Nibel.

It was a very large castle of stormy gray marble, with beautiful oak front doors and golden doorknobs. There were three stained glass windows of dazzling colors, but the princess was disgusted by what they depicted: a crown, an image of the Nibel dominion's goddess, Jenova, and three pieces of materia in a triangle, with the ruling family's motto, 'verus potestas vadum nunquam intereo'.

"Come on, Princess Aerith." one of her guards urged.

She reluctantly took a few steps forward, then began walking at the pace of one going to a funeral.

Several minutes later, they arrived at the front doors, and pushed them open to immediate fanfare.

"Presenting Her Royal Highness, Princess Aerith of the Cetran Kingdom!" a man near the door announced.

Aerith looked around the room, and saw guards everywhere. She smoothed a small wrinkle out of her dress, realizing there was no escape here, took a deep breath, and walked forward to King Sephiroth's throne. Once she reached it, she curtsied, and said, "You wished for me to be wed to you, Your Majesty."

"Yes, yes, I know. Now stand, so that I can get a better look at you." the king replied.

Aerith obliged, and was surprised by what she saw. With that deep voice, she had expected someone much older, but instead, she saw a man who could not have been older than twenty-five. His long, silver hair fell gently down his back, and floated delicately behind him as he circled her. Aerith saw that he had intensely green eyes with slit pupils as he gazed upon her face. He had slightly pale skin, sharply conrasted by the black royal outfit he wore. He was very muscular, and Aerith suddenly thought that she might have found him very handsome if every fiber of his being did not reek of some evil thing she did not recognize, but loathed just the same.

"Smile, girl. One would think you would not want to be here." King Sephiroth commanded.

Aerith forced herself to smile, though she wished fiercely to be somewhere, anywhere else.

Sephiroth sighed as if disappointed, having apparently finished his inspection, and summoned one of his guards. "Take the princess to my quarters, so that she may meet with the other wives. I will be there within the hour."

"Yes, Your Majesty." the guard replied before taking hold of Aerith's wrist, and dragging her off.

Aerith struggled to break free, but the guard's grip just would not be broken. Then, she noticed that there was a clear inch of air above her wrist, and that the guard's hand was clasped around that space above her wrist. _How is he able to pull me along? He's not even touching me!_

Her train of thought was broken as she was flung unceremoniously to a stone floor, and the door slammed behind her. She got on her knees, looked up, and saw three other women looking at her.

The first woman had short blond hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a tailored black and silver dress, and was smiling at Aerith. The second woman also had blond hair and blue eyes, but her hair was long, and she wore a scarlet dress, regarding Aerith with a sneer. The third women looked even younger than Aerith was, and had short black hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a flowing forest green gown, and was also smiling at Aerith.

"Hey there! You must be the new girl! My name's Yuffie! What's yours?" the third woman asked.

"Aerith." Aerith shakily replied.

"Well, Aerith, nice to meet you. My name's Elena." the first woman introduced.

The second woman sat quietly on the bed, giving Aerith a once-over. "What is she doing here?"

"She's going to be a new wife for our husband." Elena replied.

"Why? She has no figure, her face is plain, her skin is too pale, her hair is a disaster, and she's a little chubby to cap it all off."

"Scarlet!" Elena objected.

Scarlet merely walked away to another corner of the room.

Aerith was nearly in tears at this point. First she was dragged here, and now this?

"Just ignore Scarlet. She's jealous that you're prettier than she is." Yuffie, who had come to Aerith's side, soothed.

Aerith wiped away a tear threatening to fall. "You really think so?"

"Definitely. I'd hate to look like that old hag."

Aerith giggled a bit at this, then stopped when she remembered where she was, and how much she wanted to escape. She looked hopefully at the door.

"Don't try it. The guard's never leave the door unless Sephiroth is with one of us and tells them expressly to leave. You'll be hard pressed to escape by then." Yuffie informed.

Aerith's head dropped. Now it was final. There was no way to escape from this nightmare. Suddenly, a question that had been bugging her since she arrived in this room popped out. "How old are you, Yuffie?"

Yuffie smiled. "Would you believe eighteen? I'm small for my age."

Aerith looked surprised, but said nothing in reply.

"You're not to keen on being here, are you?"

Aerith shook her head. "No. I've dreaded this moment since I was fourteen."

Yuffie smiled bitterly. "Lucky you. I wasn't even given a chance to dread. I was taken from my homeland of Wutai when I was twelve, married almost the second I stepped into the castle, and put to use my first night here."

Aerith gasped. "How horrible."

Then, with a horrible jolt, she realized something. "Will I-?"

"Yes." was Yuffie's reply.

"B-but I don't want-! Not to him! I've never- I don't-!"

"You're a virgin?" Yuffie asked curiously.

Aerith nodded.

Yuffie was about to reply when the door flew open, and Sephiroth walked in.

"You three, out." he ordered his other three wives. "And tell the guards to leave their posts. I wish not to be disturbed."

The other three exited the room, slamming the door behind them.

"Now then, my dear Aerith, let us begin to get to know each other. First, take off your traveling cloak. You're not intending on running away, are you?" Sephiroth wondered.

"No." Aerith lied, taking off the cloak, and exposing her bare arms.

Sephiroth smiled a gorgeous smile that had a vague bit of a smirk in it, and offered Aerith the seat next to his bed. Aerith sat down slowly, and began to reluctantly answer questions about herself.

After about an hour of questions, Sephiroth reached out his left hand, and stroked Aerith's right shoulder. Aerith was repulsed at his touch, and barely repressed a shudder. Sephiroth then got up, walked to the closet, and pulled out a pink outfit made of a beautiful, flowing material. Aerith was awed at its beauty, but noticed that it would show rather a lot more skin than she would care to show.

"Am I to put this on now?" she asked Sephiroth.

He nodded, practically throwing it to her.

She caught it, and continued her question. "In front of you?"

"No, in the closet will do. Yes, in front of me! Do you have a problem with that?"

There was a sudden knock at the door.

"What?" Sephiroth asked in an irritated tone of voice filled with barely controlled fury.

"Your Majesty, there is someone to see you." the guard outside the door replied.

"Tell them to wait!"

"They said it cannot."

"Ugh, fine!"

He turned to face Aerith, and said, "It seems you get one final moment of maidenly modesty whilst I deal with this imbecile. But when I return, you can forget such childish things, for you will be with me the remainder of the night. Stay here, and don't move a muscle until I get back."

With that, he stormed away behind the guard, leaving the door wide open.

Aerith waited silently until the sound of Sephiroth's stomping footsteps and cursing faded, then began to run as quietly as she could through the corridors of the castle. After five minutes of running nonstop, she paused to catch her breath. She looked up, and noticed that she was in a hallway filled with statues.

She took a closer look at one of the statues, and realized that it was a highly realistic figure of a former king in Sephiroth's family. She walked slowly down the hallway, the detail of the statues scaring her slightly. The lips looked so real, they seemed as if they could move any second, and betray where she was. She had an eerie feeling that those sightless eyes were watching her, and following her every step.

Suddenly, there was a resounding crash, and Sephiroth's voice echoed through the corridors of the entire castle.

"She's gone. She's GONE!"

"What do we do, Your Majesty?" the guard's voice asked much more quietly.

"**WHAT DO YOU THINK, YOU IMBECILE?!? FIND HER, CATCH HER! I WANT EVERY GUARD IN THE CASTLE AFTER HER! ****FIND****HER****!!!"**

Aerith gasped, and began running once more, not caring in which direction she was going. By the time she had run out of breath again, she was close to a door. She opened the door, entered the room, and shut the door quickly behind her.

The room she was in now was lit by an eerie blue light that seemed to be emanating from an object in the center of the back wall of the room. Aerith gasped when she saw that the object lighting the room was the very same goddess depicted in the stained glass window in the flesh, suspended within a translucent blue fluid. She heard the murmurs of people praying, and an unintelligble noise that was half whisper, half song coming from the thing in the back of the room.

"Excuse me, Miss-" a voice said gently.

Aerith started, and turned toward the voice to find a man in a white robe-like garmet that shadowed his face, except for the eyes, and the bottom of his face, both of which seemed a very pale blue.

"Are you here to worship?" the man asked.

"No." Aerith replied rapidly.

"Aerith?" a familiar female voice asked quietly.

"Yuffie! Oh, thank goodness! I'm trying to get out of the castle, but I've lost my way. Can you help me? Please, please tell me that you can." Aerith pleaded in a hushed voice.

Yuffie looked hesitant, then whispered, "Follow me."

Aerith followed Yuffie out of the room, and down countless different corridors. They came to a certain hallway, and Yuffie stopped suddenly, forcing Aerith to do the same. Yuffie gazed out, and said, "Okay, the coast is clear."

She then ran with Aerith on her heels across the hall, and nudged one brick, so the wall came swinging inward with a loud grinding noise.

"I've seen the servants use this passage to get supplies when they don't want to deal with the guards." Yuffie explained.

Suddenly, a guard, who had apparently heard the noise, appeared and said, "Hey, you!"

Yuffie shoved Aerith into the secret passageway. "Go! Run!"

"What about you?" Aerith asked.

"I'll be fine, just go! Head for the nearest town, and get away from here as fast and far as you can!"

Aerith nodded, and began running down the pitch black passageway as the wall closed behind her.

---

King Sephiroth was pacing his room when one of the guards came in with a report.

"Well?" he asked.

"She has escaped, Your Majesty." the guard replied.

"Damn!" Sephiroth swore.

He sighed, and said, "Summon the knights to my throne room. And while you're at it," he smirked, "send out the wolves."

---

Aerith stumbled out of the secret passage into the moonless night.

"Well, that is a trip I don't want to take again." she muttered.

Then, she began to run as quickly as she could without tripping in the darkness. As she was running, she heard panting that was not her own, turned around, and saw a pack of Nibel Wolves chasing her. She let out a high-pitched scream of terror, and ran faster.

She continued running, and did not stop for anything, even when she lost her shoes in the dark. Twenty minutes of hard running later, she noticed a sharp decline in her path, and lights that could only mean a town was near. She ran quickly down the decline, sliding some of the way, and when she reached the bottom, she made a beeline for the town. In her panic, she saw the wolves gaining on her, and knocked on the door of a building with a sign that said, in faded letters, 'Seventh Heaven'.

After a minute or so, the door swung open to reveal a woman with long black hair, brown eyes, and pale skin wearing a black outift which showed off her figure. "Yes?"

"Please let me in! I need shelter from the Nibel Wolves chasing me, and I have run a long way!" Aerith gasped.

The woman flung wide the door, and helped Aerith into the building. Aerith turned around to thank her, but the door had closed. She heard loud thumps and whimpering, and five minutes later, the woman returned.

"You're lucky you're not dead. You must be able to run fast. What's your name?" the woman asked.

Aerith tried to reply, but her exhaustion took over, and she blacked out.

---

King Sephiroth's throne room was deathly silent, save for the struggling of Yuffie Kisaragi.

"Your Majesty, we know this helped Princess Aerith escape." the guard that was holding Yuffie reported, throwing her to the ground.

Sephiroth glared coldly at Yuffie. "Well, wife, you seem to have gotten yourself in a lot of trouble. First you have the affair with Reno- oh yes I know about it- and now this. Now tell me, where is Princess Aerith?"

"No clue." Yuffie replied.

"Liar. I repeat, where is she?"

"I told you already, I have no clue."

"I won't ask again. Where is she?"

"Maybe you should get up off of your lazy royal butt and search for her yourself, if she matters that much to you."

At this, Sephiroth looked positively murderous. "Such **in**solence! Very well, since you will not talk, you will be executed. Reno!"

Reno stepped forward. "Y-yes, Your Majesty?"

Sephiroth drew out a dagger, and placed it in Reno's hand. "You know what you must do."

Reno gulped, and advanced upon Yuffie.

"No, Reno! No! Please, no! No! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

As Yuffie's dying scream continued spiraling in a sickening echo throughout the room, Sephiroth called forth four knights.

"Cloud, Kadaj, Yazoo, Loz." he summoned.

"Yes, Sire?" they all replied in unison.

"Search the land for a maiden of sixteen with long brown hair done in a braid with a pink ribbon tying it up, pale skin, and emerald green eyes. She is wearing a sleeveless pink dress that should be torn in many places."

"Very well. We'll find her." Cloud replied.

"See to it that you do, or there will be hell to pay."

---

**IluvAUs:** Holy crap that took a long time to type! I had to split it in half to finish it! So I had better get some reviews!


	2. On A Wild Goose Chase

**IluvAUs:** OK, here I am with the next chapter of The Triangle of Power. Just gotta warn ya, expect long breaks between updates, because I have to write the chapter down in my notebook first before I can type it. And school's about to start, but I'm taking WAAAAY advanced classes, so I may have LOADS of homework. Anyways, be prepared to wait for updates. Hmmmmm... let's get Vincent to do the disclaimer.

**Vincent: **I'm guessing this is because of the youtube vid you saw late last night. You had a fangirl fit. Anyways, **Disclaimer: **IluvAUs owns nothing.

**IluvAUs:** Thanks a ton, Vincent! Oh, and in case anyone was wondering, the royal family's motto meant 'true power shall never die'. Fitting, considering who's in charge. The intercutting in this chapter may span several hours, so don't be confused if in Aerith's POV it's sunset and in Cloud's it's morning. Anyways, enough outta me, on with the show!

---

Chapter Two- On A Wild Goose Chase

"Hey, are you okay?" a concerned voice asked.

Aerith groaned, and opened her eyes to see the woman that had given her shelter leaning over her with a concerned look on her face. She found her voice, and replied, "Yes."

The woman sighed. "Thank goodness!"

Aerith sat up and asked, "Who are you?"

The woman laughed. "I could ask you the same question. My name is Tifa."

Aerith gasped. "I forgot to introduce myself? Oh, how rude of me! My name's Aerith."

Now Tifa gasped. "You're Princess Aerith of the Cetran Kingdom?"

"Uh, yes?" Aerith queried, confused at Tifa's reaction.

Tifa clearly looked worried when she answered, "The order was sent out for anyone who finds you to turn you in to King Sephiroth."

Aerith gave Tifa a frantic look, and begged, "Please don't! He'll rape me and force me to stay as his sex slave! Or worse!"

Tifa looked shocked, then placated, "Don't worry, Aerith. I won't hand you over to him."

"That's very kind of you, but you're taking a terrible risk in hiding me. What if he discovers that you helped me escape? He could kill you!"

"He won't find out. You'll be off by the time he gets here."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll come up with some way for you to escape. In the meantime, why don't you have some lunch. You look like you could use the food."

"Thank you." Aerith replied as her stomach gave a loud grumble. "I am rather hungry."

She then walked downstairs and sat at a table where a tray was waiting for her. She smiled, and began to eat.

---

"Cloud, let's just face it, there's nothing here." a teenager wearing a black leather outfit with long sleeves and black gloves half-whined.

"We can't leave until we've searched the entire town, Kadaj. You know that." Cloud replied firmly.

"We've searched over half the town, and no one's seen the girl. Let's just leave now."

"No!" Cloud half-shouted.

He quickly turned back to face Kadaj, and asked, "Do you want to be the one to report that the princess escaped for good because we left a house unchecked?"

Kadaj rapidly shook his head, his shoulder-length silver hair flying through the air.

"Then stop complaining, and keep searching!"

Kadaj 'hmph'ed defiantly, and muttered under his breath, "If someone had been helping the guards instead of drinking at the palace's bar, the princess wouldn't have escaped in the first place."

"What was that?" Cloud asked furiously.

"Nothing, nothing. I'll go see how Yazoo and Loz are doing." Kadaj replied before riding off.

Cloud rolled his eyes, and knocked on the next door he came to. There was no answer. He knocked again, and heard a voice yell, "Dammit Shera, could you get the damn door?"

Cloud stood patiently outside as he heard stomping and more cursing come closer to the door before it was thrown open. He found himself looking at a man in his thirties or forties who had short blonde hair that stuck up slightly, a stubbly beard, and pale skin. He was a rather muscular man, and he wore clothes similar to those of a Midgarian Empire Aviator. "And just what the hell do you want?"

"I'm looking for Princess Aerith. Have you seen her?" Cloud asked.

"Nope. Never heard of her. Name's Cid."

Cloud nodded in understanding. "Very well, Cid. Let us know if you see her."

The door closed in Cloud's face, and he walked to the next house.

Ten minutes later, Kadaj reported back to Cloud.

"Well?" Cloud asked.

"Nothing. Yazoo and Loz said they were still searching, but no dice yet." Kadaj answered.

Cloud sighed. Today was going to be a long day.

---

Sephiroth took slow, puposeful steps toward his room, where his remaining two wives waited for him. He needed to look mournful, so he made his eyes as falsely teary as he could, and opened the door.

"What happened? Where are Yuffie and Aerith?" Elena asked frantically once Sephiroth had entered the room.

He turned his "teary" eyes on Elena, and solemnly replied, "Aerith ran away."

Scarlet scoffed. "I never liked her that much anyway."

Elena gave Scarlet a death glare, then looked pleadingly at Sephiroth. "And Yuffie?"

He heaved a fake heavy sigh. "She helped Aerith escape."

Elena gasped. "You- you didn't punish her, did you? You didn't- You didn't execute her, did you?"

He feigned shock. "Elena, you don't honestly think I would hurt any one of you, much less kill one of you, or let one of you be killed, do you?"

Elena shook her head. "Of course not. But what happened to her?"

He blinked, so that a few false tears fell. "When I asked her where the princess went, she panicked, and picked up the nearest sharp object she could find. I tried to tell her I would not harm her, but before I finished, she stabbed herself in the heart and died."

Elena gave a shuddering gasp, and threw herself at Sephiroth, sobbing onto his shoulder.

Sephiroth reassuringly placed his hands on Elena's back, and pulled her into a strong embrace. "Shhshh. It's all right. Settle down."

He then gave Scarlet a glare that said 'leave us'.

Scarlet nodded grudgingly, and closed the door just as Sephiroth and Elena began to kiss.

---

Aerith had finished eating, and was now taking a more thorough look at her surroundings. She knew she was in a bar, but it seemed more a homely place than a place where fights would break out. The tables in the downstairs area were all wooden, and very old-looking. The floors were kept shining, but they bore the distinct impression of having been walked on often. The upstairs level consisted of two bedrooms: One with a large bed meant for two, the other with two smaller beds that seemed fit for children. All of the beds had plaid covers on them. All in all, the Seventh Heaven seemed a very friendly place, where people could come and go as they pleased.

She sat down on one of the small beds, and watched Tifa as she paced back and forth, trying to think of something.

"Barret!" she cried out suddenly.

"What?" Aerith wondered.

"Barret. He's an old friend of mine. He could help you, but he's all the way in Corel. Since I don't have any chocobos, we'd have to travel on foot, but it would look really suspicious if I closed up for a week or so..."

Tifa went back to pacing for a few moments before an idea came to her. "Wait a minute. Cid. Cid's a regular customer of mine. He's a friend of Barret's too, and could take you to Corel. He should be here this evening around seven. I'll talk to him then, and see if he'll do this."

"Will he?" Aerith asked nervously.

"He should. If he doesn't- well, we're back to square one. Anyways, you'll need to stay up here until I bring Cid."

Aerith nodded in understanding.

Tifa began rooting around in a nearby drawer, and tossed an outfit to Aerith. "Put this on. When you get going, it should mask your scent, and confuse the Nibel Wolves."

Aerith nodded once more, and changed into the outfit Tifa had given her. It was a light blue dress that seemed to have been worn many times. It was a bit loose, particularly around the bust area, but other than that, it fit rather well.

Tifa turned to face Aerith and said, "Listen closely. They may come looking for you. Stay up here, and be very quiet if you hear voices other than the usual drunken chatter, okay? And please try not to make the floor creak."

"So basically, you want me to stay still and silent up here?" Aerith asked.

Tifa grimaced. "Not that severely, but yeah. Anyways, I'd better open up the bar, or I'll draw some unwanted attention, and I really don't need that."

"I understand. go ahead and open up." Aerith acknowledged.

Tifa smiled warmly, and shut the door behind her as she walked downstairs.

Aerith laid down on the bed, her emerald eyes gazing blankly at the plain ceiling.

_At least I'll have a comfortable enough place to stay for now._

---

Cloud sat in the Rocket Town bar, waiting for Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz to show up. He grumbled, and began drumming his fingers impatiently. His gaze flickered to the door, and it opened to reveal Loz.

Loz's short silver hair was in slight disarray, his semi-pale skin shining with sweat, his black leather outfit clinging to his every muscle, aquamarine eyes scanning the room until they found Cloud.

He walked towards Cloud's table, sat down, and said, "Yazoo and Kadaj got delayed by some townsfolk."

Cloud nodded in understanding. "And the princess?"

Loz gulped, and replied, "She's not here."

Cloud grumbled in frustration as he pulled out the communication materia. "His Majesty is not going to be pleased when he hears this."

---

Sephiroth and Elena lay in a mass of tangled sheets, their clothes discarded carelessly by the bed. Bodies covered in sweat, they nestled close to each other, Elena's head resting against Sephiroth's muscled chest, and Sephiroth's hand laid casually on her breast.

"Sephiroth... I love you." Elena murmured.

"As do I, Elena." Sephiroth replied. _As long as you continue being as fair as you are now, and continue to be this pleasurable company for me, that is._

Sephiroth moved his hand upward, and caressed Elena's face. He relished the feel of her soft skin at his fingertips.

Suddenly, a materia in his arm began glowing a fierce red. He rolled his eyes, and pressed against the glowing spot, pushing himself into a sitting position. An image of Cloud appeared above his right hand. "This had better be important, Strife."

"Sire, we've finished the sweep of Rocket Town, and she's not there." Cloud replied.

Sephiroth swore under his breath. "Search Nibleheim as soon as possible. Leave no building in all of Gaia unchecked until she's back here in Castle Nibel, where she belongs."

Cloud nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty."

The image faded, and Sephiroth laid back down in bed.

"You won't hurt Aerith when she has returned, will you?" Elena asked quietly.

Sephiroth shook his head, silver hair forming a slight cloud around his head. "Of course not, Elena." he whispered into her ear. "I would never hurt any one of you."

Elena believed the lie, and turned over to go to sleep.

Sephiroth clambered out of the bed, and began dressing into his formal clothing. An ambassador from the Midgarian Empire was scheduled to come later that day, and he felt it prudent to look his best for his powerful allies in the east. Once fully dressed, he shut the door quietly behind him as he walked into the hallway.

He wandered through the corriodrs of the castle until he reached the Chamber of Jenova. He entered the room, and commanded the people in it, "Leave me."

"Yes, Your Majesty. Your Eminence." the people replied, exiting the room, and shutting the door.

Sephiroth knelt before Jenova, and began to pray. "Jenova, mother of all that lives and breathes, guardian of souls gone on, and caregiver to the people, I beseech you, let my prayer be heard. Let me hear your voice, as you have heard mine."

There was a brief moment of silence. Then, an unearthly voice replied, **'Yes, my son. I know of you troubles with the Cetran princess. Cetrans are ignorant fools, as always. Perhaps you are well rid of her. No? Very well, then. I shall guide your knights in the right direction when I find her spirit.'**

Sephiroth looked amazed. "No words can explain the thanks I must give, generous mother."

He fell into a kowtow, and began muttering various prayers of thanks under his breath nonstop, during which Jenova resumed her typical whispering song. Sephiroth felt his eyes closing as the hypnotic lullaby overtook him, until finally, he fell unconscious.

---

Aerith sat bolt upright as she heard footsteps headed up the stairs. Her mind began frantically working, searching for a way out. The door opened, and Tifa entered with an older, blond-haired man.

"Aerith, it's okay. This is Cid Highwind. He'll be taking you to Corel." Tifa informed.

"Damn, this is a surprise. I get bugged by a soldier about you earlier, and now I'm helping you escape. Don't worry. I'll get you to Corel safely." Cid commented.

"Thank you, Cid." Aerith replied graciously.

"You don't have to thank me, Princess. It's an honor drivin' you." Cid said humbly.

Tifa looked hurriedly downstairs. "I'd better get back. You won't be able to set out until nightfall, so just stay up here and chat quietly. I'll come get you when it's time to leave, okay?"

"Okay." Aerith and Cid replied in unison.

Tifa then shut the door, leaving Aerith and Cid alone to talk.

---

Cloud and Loz had been waiting several hours for Yazoo and Kadaj to show up. Finally, the two came through the door, looking exhausted.

"Well?" Cloud asked.

"Nothing." Kadaj replied, plopping down in a vacant chair.

Cloud swore under his breath. "Well, I hope you're not too tired, because we need to head for Nibelheim now."

This comment was met by instant protests from the others. Cloud eventually caved in, and said, "All right, all right." We'll rest at the inn for the night. But first thing tomorrow, we leave."

---

Sephiroth's eyes snapped open as Jenova's lullaby abruptly stopped. He rose from the kowtow, and stood up slowly, as if in a trance.

**'You have work to do, my son. Release yourself for now. Go.'** Jenova whispered.

Sephiroth started slightly, breaking free of his trance, and walking out of the room, letting the people outside enter freely. He walked at a leisurely pace, pausing at his room to see if Elena was still there.

She was in there, sure enough, sleeping upon the bed.

Sephiroth smiled slightly at this, and continued his trek to the throne room. _She is by far ny favorite wife, but should she prove an infidel as Yuffie did, or cross me in any way, I will not hesitate to give the proper punishment._

He entered the throne room, and sat upon the throne. And not a moment to soon, for almost as soon as he sat down, the ambassador from the Midgarian Empire stepped into the room.

"Ah, Tseng. I've been expecting you." Sephiroth commented cooly.

Tseng bowed deeply, and said, "Your Majesty, Emperor Shinra has sent me to inform you that all of our knights are prepared and on the lookout. If the princess enters our land, they'll find her."

"Good, good. And the other matter?"

"Nothing has come of it, Your Majesty. It does not seem to be in our land."

Sephiroth grumbled. "The princess's parents. They must be hiding it. I should've known. You may leave, Tseng. And tell Rufus to investigate the Cetran Kingdom."

Tseng bowed once more, and left the throne room.

_The real one must be somewhere. What am I overlooking? Never mind. It matters not. For they shall all be mine soon._

---

Cid and Aerith both started when the door opened, but relaxed when they saw that it was Tifa.

"The bar's closed. You're free to go." Tifa informed.

Cid and Aerith nodded in reply, and walked downstairs, Tifa close behind.

"Aerith, shroud your face. Be sure they can't recognise you. Travel only by night unless there's no way to do so. And be careful, both of you."

"No problem, Teef." Cid replied, walking out the door to his carriage for delivering supplies.

Goodbye, Tifa. And thank you for your kindness!" Aerith graciously added before getting into the carriage herself.

Cid snapped the reins with a 'hyah', and they were off.

Once they were outside the town, Cid began to talk to Aerith about his life, but during his speech, her eyelids became heavy, and she drifted off to sleep.

---

"Kadaj, wake up!" Cloud shouted.

Kadaj drew the covers up over his head, and turned onto his side with a grumble.

"You don't honestly think that just because you're His Majesty's younger brother that he will show you any mercy should you fail him? You saw how little hesitation he showed in killing Yuffie. His own wife, for Jenova's sake!"

Kadaj groaned again, and waved his hand in a 'shoo' motion.

"Do I need to tell His Majesty that his younger brother requires a bucket of ice water dumped upon his head every morning?"

Kadaj sat bolt upright, saying, "I'm up, I'm up!"

"Good." Cloud replied, walking out the door.

Kadaj grumbled once more as he clambered out of bed, and dressed himself. Five minutes later, he met the others outside the inn.

"Ready to go now?" Cloud asked.

"Honestly, no. But we'll just leave anyways, so yeah, I'm ready." Kadaj retorted.

With that, the group of four began their two-hour trek over Mount Nibel to the town of Nibelheim. Once they arrived in town, they split up.

Cloud headed for the Seventh Heaven bar, and entered it. "Hey, Teef."

Tifa looked up from the glass she was cleaning, and said, "Cloud! Where have you been the last seven years?"

"Training to become a knight for His Majesty. What else?"

Tifa chuckled. "So, what brings you here?"

"Orders from the king. I'm looking for Princess Aerith. Have you seen her?"

Tifa hastily looked down at the glass. "No."

"Not at all?" Cloud pressed.

"Nope."

"Tifa, you don't need to be afraid. His Majesty won't hurt you for being honest if you've seen her."

"Cloud, I told you, I haven't seen her at all!" Tifa frantically replied.

Cloud rose from his seat, giving Tifa a suspicious look before walking out into the street. He leaned against the wall, and waited for the others to report.

Back inside the bar, a single tear rolled down Tifa's cheek. What had happened to the Cloud she knew as a child? He was gone now, replaced by a duty-driven knight who would stop at nothing for His Majesty. She shook her head vigorously, and returned to work.

Outside, the others had finally shown up to report. "Well?" Cloud asked.

"Nothing. But there appear to be chocobo tracks leading out of town. And- there's a whisper of rebellion here. Let me call my brother this time, Cloud." Kadaj replied.

"Very well." Cloud sighed.

Kadaj pulled his communication materia out of his pocket, and pressed his right pointer finger to it.

---

Sephiroth was in the chamber of Jenova when the materia in his arm began to glow. He pressed against it, and saw that Kadaj was reporting this time. "Well, Brother?"

"No sign of the princess, but there are tracks leading out of town." Kadaj replied.

_This must be what Jenova_ _meant._ "Very good. Follow those tracks. Where they lead, you will find the princess."

"Your Majesty, there's something else."

"Go on."

"There have been people speaking very highly of AVALANCHE, a known rebel group, here. They spoke of a plan, and it worries me slightly."

Sephiroth's gaze hardened. "Come to think of it, I've heard those rumors myself. Very well. Follow those tracks now. I will be arriving tonight to deal with this town of traitors- personally."

"Very well, Big Brother." Kadaj responded, ending the message.

Sephiroth rose to his feet, and exited the chamber, walking to his room at an alarmingly fast pace. He stormed into his room, slammed the door violently behind him, and practically ran to the closet. He tore the closet doors open, and shoved aside his royal finery to view an outfit hanging in the back.

The outift in the back was the same one he had worn when he was aiding his ally, the Midgarian Empire, against the Wutaian insurgents. It was made of durable, yet comfortable black leather, and consisted of pants, gloves, and a cloak that could be fastened down the entire front. The cloak was excessively low cut, bareing the chest save for two lether straps that criss-crossed it. It had silver shoulder pads attatched to it, and seemed to long for battle.

_It's been six years since this uniform has seen battle. Well, no matter. It will get its use tonight._ Sephiroth thought, pulling the outfit out of the closet and laying it on the bed.

He stepped outside, and summoned one of his guards.

"Yes, Your Highness?" the guard asked.

"Go to the Royal Armory and fetch Masamune. I shall need it for tonight."

"Yes, Your Highness." the guard said with a bow before walking off.

_Tonight, those traitors will pay with what is most dear to them: their __lives_

---

Aerith was rudely awakened by the carriage giving a violent jolt and voices shouting.

"What's going on?" she asked worriedly.

"The king's knights've tracked us." Cid replied grimly.

"What do we do?" Aerith wondered frantically.

"Don't worry, Princess. I've got an idea. Hyah!" he said, snapping on the reins.

The carriage sped up, as did the knights. Aerith knew not how much time had passed, only that they had reached Corel, and looped around it, making one of the knights enter the town.

"We lost one!" Cid rejoiced, snapping the reins again.

Aerith looked outside, and noticed the sun was beginning its downward trek as they looped around the Golden Saucer and lost the other three.

They rode on until they reached the small town of Gongaga, where Cid let Aerith out of the carriage.

"Sorry I couldn't getcha there, Princess." Cid apologized.

"It's alright, Cid. You did your best." Aerith soothed.

"Listen, Princess, I know Teef told you to travel only by night, but those knights'll be here really damn quick, so... there's a forest nearby you can lose yourself in. No one goes there, so you should be safe for a few days."

"I understand. Thank you for your help, Cid."

Aerith watched as Cid re-entered the carriage, and rode off into the sunset, feeling relieved that she had escaped being captured once more.

---

**IluvAUs:** OK, I started this at 7:30 am, and it's 11:30 now. This took four hours to type, so I would really appreciate some reviews. Cookies to all who do review!


	3. Punishment For Their Sins

**IluvAUs:** Well, I'm back.

**FF7 Cast:** FINALLY!

**IluvAUs: **Sorry! I had tons of schoolwork to do, and this chapter took forever to write. It was 42 pages long on spiral bound notebook paper! Hmmm... who gets no screen time? Ah, Yazoo! Do the disclaimer.

**Yazoo: **Sure, since Kadaj gets all the attention. Ahem- **Disclaimer:** IluvAUs owns nothing!

**IluvAUs: **Thanks much! Now, on with the story!

---

**Chapter Three- Punishment For Their Sins**

Sephiroth had a fire burning in his eyes as he pulled on his left glove. It was time to show all Gaia what happens to people who betrayed the Jenovan Kingdom. Those traitors would pay, not just now, with their lives, but for eternity as they burned in Hell, for while Jenova was a merciful goddess, she despised traitors.

"Sephiroth," Elena asked concernedly behind him, "are you sure this is right?"

Sephiroth turned to face Elena. "Yes, I am sure. Traitors do not deserve to live."

"They've done nothing wrong!" Elena objected.

"Yet, Elena. But they will. I am certain of that. I'll not give them the chance to destroy this kingdom which has stood for more than one thousand years!" Sephiroth replied fiercely. Then, realizing he had let his true self show, he immediately added, "Do you honestly believe they would hesitate to kill you merely because you are my wife? If anything, that will make them target you more! Do you think, for a moment, that I want to enter my room to find you and the others dead?"

Elena shook her head. "No, of course not."

Sephiroth turned away and walked out of the room, picking up Masamune as he did so. He heard footsteps behind him, and knew that Elena was following him.. He exited the castle through the front doors, and found his black chocobo already saddled and waiting for him, along with Reno and two other knights.

Sephiroth mounted the chocobo, and held Masamune ahead of him.

"Sephy." Elena called.

Sephiroth winced. That had been Yuffie's pet name for him. He never cared much for it.

"Be careful, okay?" Elena continued.

Sephiroth nodded, then rode off into the night, with his faithful knights behind him.

---

_Note to self: never travel into a forest alone at night._ Aerith thoguht as she walked through the forest.

The forest itself was very dense, with trees occupying almost all its space, which meant that there was very little light for Aerith to see by. Not only was it dark, but it was quiet. Too quiet. Eerily quiet.

Aerith gazed up through a patch of branches, and saw that the moon was full, casting an odd, silvery light on everything in its path. She shivered involuntarily from the cold, and from the creepiness of it all. _Who __knows__ what could be lurking in here? And why is it so cold?_

She turned her gaze upon a nearby tree, and saw a pair of yellow eyes staring back at her. She screamed, and began to run. After a few minutes, she paused to catch her breath.

"Wh- what am I so afraid of?" she huffed. "It's probably just a squirrel or something."

Suddenly, a twig snapped, and a low bass growl echoed through the area. Aerith looked behind her, and saw an alpha male Nibel Wolf looking hungrily at her. She let out a high pitched shriek, and ran as fast as her legs could carry her.

Five minutes later, she noticed a clearing ahead. She picked up speed, but tripped on a tree root just outside of the clearing, and was sent flying into it.

As she tried to turn over, she could feel that she had scraped both hands on the palm. She felt something running down her cheek, and a place above her eye was stinging like crazy. However, the most severe pain was in her ankle, which she was sure she had either broken, sprained, or twisted.

The wolf growled again, and Aerith looked over to see that it was gathering its body as if to pounce.

She shut her eyes, and prepared herself for the pain. But it never came. She reopened her eyes, and saw something large and purple rushing past her, letting out a roar of fury as it charged the Nibel Wolf.

The fight was occurring so fast that she had no way to know who- or what was winning. A moment later, she heard a pathetic whimper, and saw the Nibel Wolf scampering off.

The purple beast began to approach her, but something was different about it. It seemed to be shrinking in size, and changing in appearance. The snout of it seemed to morph into a face, and purple skin seemed to be changing to white. It seemed to be changing- into a man.

Aerith gave the man one last frightened glance before falling unconscious.

---

Sephiroth and the three knights he had brought with him rode into Nibelheim, right into the center of the town. Upon his black chocobo, wearing his black leather outfit, with his silver hair srangely illuminated by the full moonlight, he was a gorgeous, yet terrifying sight. He nodded to two of the knights, and they blew out a very loud trumpet call.

"Citizens of Nibelheim, I come to you, not as your king, but as your executioner. You know of your betrayal, so I'll not stand here and waste time explaining your crime. Now I have come to quell this rebellion. However, if you hand over Princess Aerith, or the one who helped her turns themself in, I may spare your lives. If not, I shall destroy every last man, woman, and child in this pathetic town." Sephiroth shouted.

A door flew open, and a man came running out of his house, falling to his knees, and grasping the bottom of Sephiroth's cloak.

"Please have mercy, My King! Have mercy! We know nothing of the princess or those rebels!" the man begged.

"Lies." Sephiroth hissed. "There were chocobo tracks leading out of town found earlier today. Someone in the town helped the princess escape, and since they choose not to reveal themselves, you all shall pay. And if you don't release my cloak now, you will be the first to die."

"My King, please believe me, we know nothing of the reb- (ack)!"

The last word ended in a choke as Sephiroth shoved his sword through the man's throat.

" I did warn you." Sephiroth muttered coldly, kicking the man's corpse off of his sword. Then, he shouted, "If any more of you wish to beg for mercy, my sword is waiting for your blood to stain it!"

With that, he raised his right hand, and cast Fire2 at a nearby house, causing it to burst into flames.

He smirked, watching as the house began to crumble, and the fire he had created spread, an oxygen-hungry monster, to the entire town. The screams of the townsfolk seemed sweet music to his ears.

He rode through the town, Masamune flashing brightly as he slew all the people who came across his path. Men, women, children, pets: No matter who or what it was, they all met the same fate.

"Sire!" Reno shouted over the roar of the flames, riding over to Sephiroth.

"What?" Sephiroth asked.

Reno pointed back to a bar that was on the verge of collapse. "Several townsfolk claim they saw the princess being aided by a woman in there!"

All the blood drained from the king's face. "Get in there, and get that woman out!"

Reno nodded, and rode toward the burning Seventh Heaven.

Sephiroth continued to slash at the townspeople, destroying them all in one fell swoop, save for the woman he had just ordered Reno to save. He brought his chocobo around to the bar just in time to see Reno throwing a woman with pale skin and long, black hair, wearing a skimpy outfit, and a boy of twelve with messy brown hair to the ground.

"Well, well, well. The traitors who were helping the princess. Reno!"

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"Take the woman back to the castle. I'll deal with the last remaining child of Nibelheim."

"Very well, Sire." Reno replied, dismounting his chocobo, throwing the woman over his shoulder, remounting the chocobo, and riding off to the castle.

The boy struggled to his feet, and began to back up as Sephiroth began to advance slowly upon him...

---

The man who had saved Aerith looked over at the unconscious form of the princess, and noticed that she was still breathing. He sighed inwardly. _Thank goodness. For a moment there, I thought that beast had killed her._

He walked over to the now sleeping princess, his tattered crimson cloak floating behind him, and knelt down beside her, looking upon her face.

Her eyes were closed gracefully, and there seemed a sort of delicate softness to her face. Her brown hair framed her face very well, and seemed well kept. Her facial features seemed very angelic, almost unearthly in there sincerity.

The man picked Aerith up, and began to walk through the forest to his house.

_There's no way I can jus leave this fair maiden out here where the animals could find her easy prey._ he thought, pushing aside a branch in his way with a clawed, gold gauntlet that was over his left hand.

Suddenly, his heart seared with pain, and began to beat much more rapidly than it should have. His gauntlet-covered hand flew to his chest, and he gritted his teeth to stop a ghoulish roar from emerging. To an outsider looking on, his eyes would be glowing a brighter crimson than normal.

_Why?_ he thought bitterly. _Why did Chaos have to pick now to vie for control?_

He looked down at Aerith, and thought, _No! I can't lose control now! Not with this girl here!_

Almost instantly, Chaos stopped trying to claw his way into the man's mind. He sighed, and continued for his house.

_There must have been a large amount of bloodshed somewhere for Chaos to want out so badly. _he reflected, entering a clearing where his house stood waiting.

His house was a small, one-floor wooden house he had built from the wood in the forest surrounding him. It had three windows, each of a simple design, which were fashioned from crystal in a nearby cavern.

He entered his house through the front door, and walked down a small hallway, entering the first door on the left. No sooner had he set the princess down on the bed in the room, Aerith opened her eyes, and recoiled slightly in fear.

The man was not surprised by this reaction. Anyone would shudder after gazing upon his fiendish appearance.

The fear in Aerith's eyes turned to curiosity, and she calmly asked, "Who are you?"

The man sighed, and replied, "My name- is Vincent Valentine."

---

Sephiroth had returned to Castle Nibel, and was in the deepest part of it: the dungeons. In this lower area, the walls were damp, and had the highly disturbing feel that they were bleeding from the murky water leaking into the cells. The cells themselves were very dirty, and rats could be seen picking at they bones of former prisoners.

It was in one of these cells that Tifa was being held, kept helpless, chained by her wrists to the wall. Her legs bore several cuts that were bleeding freely, and her eyes flashed with utter loathing as she glared at the king.

"Now Tifa, tell me: Where did you send Princess Aerith? Tell me, before I'm forced to start cutting into that pretty face of yours." Sephiroth said menacingly, reaching his right hand out, and grabbing Tifa's face.

Tifa spat in his face, and attempted to kick him in the royal family jewels. He jumped back to avoid the offending foot, and swept his sword across Tifa's bare stomach.

She screamed in pain, and allowed her head to drop, hitting against her chest.

"You can't hide the truth forever. my knights will soon find her, with or without your help. It will make things so much easier if you just capitulate to my demands right now." Sephiroth persuaded softly, attempting to coax the princess's whereabouts out of her.

Tears filled Tifa's eyes, and she thought, _I'm sorry... Cloud..._

Then, with a new resolve, she turned her head up to Sephiroth, and retorted, "Go to hell, and screw yourself when you get there, you royal son of a bitch!"

Sephiroth jerked back, and looked absolutely apalled at this outburst. He glared at Tifa, and began to raise his sword to strike a killing blow. Then, within the same second, he began to lower the sword, and leave the dungeon. However, he turned to face Tifa once more.

"I will not kill you. You possess too valuable information for me to destroy you. Instead, I will keep you here until you are ready to talk to me without such outbursts. Remember, bar girl, the sooner you talk, the sooner you can see the light of day."

And with that, he exited the dungeons entirely, slamming the door behind him with an echoing thud.

Tifa hung quietly from the wall now, silent tears flowing down her face. _Aerith, I hope you're alright..._

---

Aerith continued to gaze upon the face of her savior, the man called Vincent Valentine, now with interest rather than fear. Not that she had been terrified before, just- startled. Now that she took a closer look, she noticed that while Vincent's facial features were intimidating, there was a sense of sincerity in his eyes, which seemed to bear a lot more pain than Aerith wished to think about.

Vincent misinterpreted her gaze, and turned his face away, saying, "It's hideous, I know."

Aerith sat up quickly, shaking her head from side to side. "No, it's not that. It's not that at all. I've just never seen eyes filled with that much pain before."

She attempted to get out of the bed and stand up, but her ankle seized up, and she began to collapse. She felt two strong arms catch her, and put her back on the bed.

"You shouldn't put any weight on that foot." Vincent scolded gently. You've twisted your ankle."

Aerith winced, not at being scolded, but at being told of her injury. "Ouch."

"You'll need to stay here until it heals." Vincent replied matter-of-factly.

Aerith's eyes filled with fear, and Vincent added, "I know that's probably the last thing you want to do, but it will only be for a week or so."

Having said that, Vincent removed the red headband he used to keep his hair out of his eyes, and placed it on the bedside table before sitting down at the foot of the bed. He held his right hand out to Aerith's ankle, and began to press lightly upon it. "Tell me when that starts to hurt."

Aerith nodded, and at that second, Vincent prodded a spot on her ankle that made her gasp with pain.

"Mm-hm. Definitely twisted, and you're honestly lucky that it's only a slight injury. It could have easily been broken." he analyzed, grabbing the red piece of cloth, and beginning to wrap it tighly around Aerith's ankle.

Aerith winced slightly as Vincent accidentally pressed on the hurt spot, then realized that she had forgotten to tell Vincent something.

"By the way... thank you, Vincent." she said quietly.

Vincent looked up, and asked, "What for?"

"That Nibel Wolf would have killed me had you not been there. Thanks- for saving my life."

Vincent was a bit surprised by this, and softly replied, "You're welcome."

A few seconds later, he finished wrapping the ankle, and said, "Try standing up now."

Aerith obliged, and found that, while it hurt to put weight on it, her ankle did not give out on her.

"Thanks. You're pretty good at this."

Vincent smiled, which was a rare occurrence. "Well, you learn a lot of things when you spend your life alone in the forest."

Aerith looked once more into Vincent's pensieve crimson eyes, and saw the shadows of tears in them.

"Vincent," she asked, choosing her words carefully, not wanting to offend him, "why exactly do you live out here?"

He sighed heavily, and murmured, "I was exiled."

"By who?"

Vincent waited a few seconds before replying, then answered, "Myself."

"Why?"

"My fellow townsfolk would've done it if I hadn't."

"No, no, I mean, what did you exile yourself for?"

Vincent shook his head vigorously. "Not now. I- I don't want to talk about it."

"I'm sorry." Aerith eased. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"It's all right. I'll tell you in a few days."

With that, Vincent walked off into the kitchen as the first rays of sunlight began to peek through the trees.

_A new day..._ Aerith thought._ Another day that they haven't caught me._

---

"So you were right on the princess's tail- **and you** **LOST**** HER**?!?"

"Big Brother-"

Sephiroth glared at the image of his younger brother. It winced, and began to speak again.

"Your Majesty, it was Cloud who told us to go into the Golden Saucer."

At this, Sephiroth positively exploded. **"****WHAAAAAAAAAAAT****?!? GET STRIFE ON THE LINE THIS ****INSTANT****!!!"**

The image of Kadaj smirked before vanishing, and allowing Cloud's face to take it's place.

"WHAT DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING, STRIFE?!?" Sephiroth bellowed.

Cloud's image blinked his eyes twice, and placatingly replied, "Your Majesty, I honestly thought that the princess had entered the Golden Saucer. It made sense, because it would have been all to easy to lose her in the crowd."

Sephiroth heaved a large sigh, and said, "Strife, you are such a dumbass sometimes. When all of Gaia is on the lookout for her, do you honestly believe she would head for the most crowded place she could find?"

Cloud looked thoughful for a second before replying, "Yeah."

Sephiroth made a noise of frustration, and venomously ordered, "Strife, head to the nearest town, and search long and hard. If she's not there, search any nearby forests. Do not call me back until you've found her and she is in your grasp. And don't fail me- again."

Cloud looked confused. "What do you mean, 'again'?"

Sephiroth smirked. "I mean your friend, the bar girl, was hiding the princess, and since she refuses to tell me where she sent her, she is chained in the dungeons, bleeding and screaming in severe agony."

Cloud looked a bit surprised at this, then looked down. "Very well, Sire. We'll find Aerith, and we won't rest until she's in our grasp."

"Good." Sephiroth replied curtly, ending the message.

---

"Very well, Sire. We'll find Aerith, and we won't bother you until she's in our grasp."

"Good."

As the king's image faded, Cloud handed the materia back to Kadaj, with his head still cast down. _Tifa... why did you lie to me?_

"Hellooooo, Gaia to Cloud, are you there?" Kadaj mocked.

Cloud snapped out of his temporary depression, and nodded before stating, "Okay, let's search Gongaga. It's a small, out-of-the-way town perfect for a princess on the run."

Loz and Kadaj exchanged looks, and Loz stammered, "Uh, Cloud? W-we can't really go anywhere right now."

"And why not?"

"Well... w- we're kinda... what I mean to say is, uh... we spentallourgilongamblinglastnight."

"What?"

"Cloud... we're out of gil."

"OUT OF GIL?!?"

While Cloud went on a rage-powered rant about how irresponsible the other three were, Kadaj muttered, "Told you he would go nuts."

Then, he stepped forward and soothed, "Cloud, relax. We'll get some money by tomorrow. Besides, how far can a princess get in one day on foot?"

Cloud sighed, and after a few seconds, calmly replied, "Okay, we stay until we get some money. That's it."

As the others left the room, he placed a hand to his head, and massaged his temple. _Idiots..._

---

Aerith was sitting at a small table in a kitchen area of Vincent's house, quietly eating the meal it had taken him four hours to prepare for her. It was some sort of vegetable matter, but it seemed to be seasoned with a few herbs and spices that could probably be found in the surrounding area.

She started when she heard the scraping of wood on wood and looked up to find Vincent sitting down across from her.

"How is it?" Vincent asked quietly.

Aerith smiled. "Fine. It's not what I'm used to, but it's fine."

Vincent cocked an eyebrow. Not what you're used to?"

"You didn't know?" Aerith marveled.

"Know what?" Vincent pressed.

"Vincent... I'm a princess."

Vincent seemed in a hurry to get out of his chair and bow down, but Aerith held her hands out in a yielding motion.

"Please, don't bother with the formalities! Right now, I couldn't care less about them!" she pleaded frantically.

Vincent looked even more startled than he had a second beforehand, and gave Aerith a curious look.

"My name- is Aerith Gainsborough, and I'm the princess and heir apparent of the Cetran Kingdom. When I was fourteen, I was told that I would be married in two years to King Sephiroth, ruler of the Jenovan Kingdom. That day came just three days ago, and I fled his palace, wanting to escape from him. He has sent his knights after me, and I have to keep running, to make sure he never gets to me."

Vincent nodded in understanding. "Well, you should be safe here. No one ever bothers me in this forest."

Now it was Aerith's turn to be curious. "What do you mean?"

Here, Vincent smirked. "Because they're too afraid the demon will get them."

"The demon?"

"It's a story I spread to keep anyone from barging in on me. I like my privacy."

Aerith giggled, but stopped abruptly when she noticed that Vincent had gone rigid, and his left hand was placed over his heart.

"Vincent?" Aerith asked concernedly.

Vincent waved his other hand, and struggled to say, "Leave the room."

"What?"

"Leave the room, please! For Gaia's sake, Aerith, get out of this room!"

Aerith ran for the door, but before she left, she cast one last glance at Vincent. He was hunched over in the lefthand corner of the room, with two rather large lumps growing on either side of his spine. Unable to stand watching any longer, she slammed the door shut, sat down on the bed, and began to cry.

---

Sephiroth sat alone in the Chamber of Jenova, meditating on the deeds he had committed within the past twenty-four hours. The screams of the townspeople were fresh in his ears, and he doubted he would ever forget the face of that last young man as he went to kill him.

**'You did well to rid the world of such traitors, my son.'** Jenova whispered in a tone filled with pride. **'You continue to make me more proud than any other from your family ever did.'**

Sephiroth's eyes flickered open at this. "You've never told me anyhting like that before."

**'But it is true. You are the most devout of my followers, and the only one worthy of ****truly**** being called my son. And for that, I shall share with you some of my power.'**

Sephiroth looked amazed as a greenish aura surrounded him, and Jenova's voice rang in his ears...

---

Cloud paced the inn room back and forth, waiting for his three subordinates to return and thinking about what the princess could be doing right now.

_She's probably left Gongaga by now, but we'll still have to search there, just in case. She could've gone to Cosmo Canyon, but considering that that's the home of the rebels, going there would be suicide. Or, she may be trying to get to a port..._

The door swung open, interrupting Cloud's train of thought, and in stepped Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz, their arms piled high with gil.

"Where'd you get all of this?" Cloud wondered.

"Combination of materia selling, prize auctioning, and pickpocketing." Kadaj informed with a sly smile.

The pickpocketing bit had slid right past Cloud, so he nodded in approval, and said, "Let's go."

---

Vincent's body was being racked with pain as Chaos began to fight for control over him. He was glad he had told Aerith to leave the room, because he could tell that Chaos wanted blood, and lots of it. He remained hunched over in the corner as excruciating pain shot from his shoulder blades to the middle of his back. Bones were forming and growing on the left and right sides of his back that shouldn't be, causing two rather large lumps to form on either side of his spine.

He heard the door shut, and mentally sighed. The closing of the door had come just in time, for mere seconds later, the bones that were forming became too large for the skin on his back to contain them, and skeletal wings burst forth from his back, forming giant gashes. However, as soon as the skin split, it began to mend itself, and the potential bleeding was stopped.

All the while, Vincent was biting his lip until it bled, resealed, and bled once more to keep from screaming or roaring, for if Aerith heard either noise, she was sure to run in to see what was happening.

His every muscle possessed a dull, aching pain as new muscle tissue began to form and pull over those bony wings, followed shortly by skin stretching over the newly formed appendages, which were twitching excitedly.

Vincent's hands began to hurt as they began to transform into claws. He felt his left hand hit the fingertips of the gauntlet he wore, signalling the end of that stage of the transformation.

It took all of his willpower not to open his mouth as his teeth pressed inward to more triangular shapes, and his incisors became much more sharp and pointy than they should have been, causing his lip to bleed far more easily than it had before while he was still biting into it.

His face suddenly went extremely numb, and cracked in a few places. Next second, he felt his eyes burn as they became a bright yellow. Adrenaline began to pound through his veins, and any and all rational human thoughts were shoved aside by one all-consuming instinct: the instinct of hunger.

Chaos, now fully in control, looked to the door, and hissed. Its heightened sense of smell detected flesh just outside the door.

_Feed._ its instincts governed.

_No!_ Vincent mentally cried out, trying desperately to regain control of his actions. _Aerith's in there! I can't destroy her!_

Chaos ignored the plea of the man that was talking in its head, buzzing like an annoying fly in its ear, and shoved open the door.

There, on the bed, Aerith was laying down, and it seemed that she was crying. The sobs were magnified a thousand times in Chaos's ears, making it want to shriek with rage, for it hated loud noises.

_Why is she crying?_ Vincent wondered. _Unless- poor princess. She's crying because she knows there's something wrong with me, and can't do anything to help._

The urge to comfort Aerith began to break through the demon's instincts, and for a second, Vincent swore he could see Aerith without a bloodred vision field.

Suddenly, Aerith stopped crying. Perhaps she had heard Vincent there, perhaps not, but next second, she looked up, and saw Chaos staring at her.

Chaos could smell the fear coursing through her veins, and moved to strike when it abruptly and inexplicably stopped.

Vincent had no idea how he had done it, but he realized that, while Chaos had his body in a transformed state, he had total control over his actions. He looked deep into Aerith's eyes, and found her gazing right back at him, with piteous tears rolling down her cheeks. His own eyes stung as tears began to well up in them, and one fell down his cheek, creating a red trail behind it.

_I'm sorry, Aerith, but I have to leave until Chaos has its fill of meat. _Vincent thought, praying that she could get the message. He had never before wished he could speak in Chaos's form as fiercely as he did in that moment. Unable to do anything else, he cast a final glance at the angel sitting on his bed, of whom he felt sure he'd never be worthy, let out a demonic shriek, and flew out of the house and into the forest.

---

Sephiroth was in the castle's library, poring over one of the largest (and oldest) volumes in the entire collection. He had enjoyed reading this book since he was a child, and one legend within it particualrly fascinated him: the legend of the Materia Trinity. He could stand to read the ancient text because of his obsession with the legend. He was gazing at a page that depicted a small, bluish sphere that seemed to contain a primitive material within it.

_The Protomateria._ he thought._ The first materia ever created by the planet._

He flipped the page, and saw a picture of a pure white sphere with a faint green glow within it.

_The White Materia. The materia of life, connecting living things to the planet._

His eyes traveled to the bottom of the same page, and found a pitch black sphere with a malevolent purple aura around it, and the silhouettes of stars inside it.

_The Black Materia. Power over the stars._

"Together," he muttered, "the Materia Trinity."

He closed the book, stood up, and walked out of the library, heading downstairs towards his room.

_It's no longer a legend. _Sephiroth pondered as he walked. _I __know__ they exist. I have found one, but do not quite have it in my grasp. The other two still elude me, but no matter. I shall find them soon._

The materia in his right arm began to glow, and Sephiroth held his hand in front of his face, thinking, _Damn you, Strife, I told you not to call me until you had the princess with you!_

He answered the call, and saw, to his surprise, Tseng, who was looking very excited about something.

"What is it, Tseng?" Sephiroth asked.

"Your Majesty, w-we've found it!" Tseng answered breathlessly.

"Found what?"

"The Black Materia."

---

"Kadaj, that's the fifth freaking time your chocobo's had to rest on the trip. What is its problem?" Cloud snapped as Kadaj's chocobo lowed to the ground.

"He's tired, Strife! Jenova, Cloud, isn't yours getting tired with all of these trips?" Kadaj shouted back.

"Maybe if you didn't make us keep procrastinating, we wouldn't have to move so fast. Besides, Choco's used to long journeys. He wasn't pampered in the palace stables and used as a prize animal all his life like yours was."

"Are you saying my Boca is spoiled?"

"Guys, shut up!" Loz yelled. "You're arguing about chocobos. Chocobos, for Jenova's sake."

Cloud and Kadaj blinked three times in unison before Kadaj muttered, "He started it."

"No, your chocobo started it! At the pace we're going, we may as well just set up camp for the night."

Kadaj grumbled resentfully, got off of Boca, and plopped down on the ground.

---

Aerith sat on the bed in Vincent's house, waiting for him to return. She had been pacing earlier, but her ankle couldn't take it, so she sat down. She could tell from the westward angle of the sun that several hours had passed.

_Should I go look for him? He's been gone an awfully long time. Then again, I'd probably get myself lost, which would cause him more worry when he comes back._

Suddenly, she heard the sound of flapping wings, and clawed feet landing roughly on the ground.

"Vincent?" Aerith asked the thin air, getting up and limping outside.

Once in the clearing, she noticed that the demon she had seen earlier was on the ground, collapsed onto its knees. She gazed on as the wings retracted into its body, and it began to return to a human form. A few seconds later, the man she knew as Vincent knelt before her, shivering almost uncontrollably, with tears flowing down his face and falling onto the ground.

"Vincent, a-are you okay?" Aerith wondered, kneeling down beside him.

"Just go away." Vincent sobbed.

Aerith shook her head. "I won't leave. I can't."

She placed a hand under Vincent's chin, to turn his head to face her, but drew away almost instantly when she felt something warm and wet against her fingers. She looked at that hand, and saw that it was covered in blood.

At this, Vincent finally gazed into her eyes, and Aerith saw exactly why he had been hiding his face from her. He looked normal, but everything from his nose downward was positively dripping with blood. His lips seemed almost caked with the crimson stuff, making it look like a grotesque lip pigment.

Aerith could not keep a look of disgust from her face when she saw this, but pushed it away almost as soon as it had formed.

Vincent looked away, and in a slightly distorted voice said, "Monster."

Aerith shook her head. "No you're not. A true monster wouldn't admit that he was one. I'm not scared. Come on, let's get you cleaned up."

She helped Vincent to his feet, and aided him in getting inside his house, taking him into the kitchen. She looked around for a minute, and Vincent pointed weakly to an average-sized jug of water sitting in the corner. Aerith found a clean rag, and immersed it in the water. She wrung the rag out before walking over to Vincent, who just nodded, and let Aerith begin to clean off his face. She smiled when he closed his eyes as though content.

"That feels pretty good, doesn't it, Vincent?" she quietly questioned.

Vincent allowed a nod to suffice for an answer.

Aerith looked slightly confused by Vincent's silence, but didn't say anything about it. A few minutes later, after she had entirely cleaned off his face, he let a single word pass through his lips: "Water."

"What? Oh!" Aerith gasped, pouring Vincent a glass of water.

Vincent took it gratefully, but instead of quaffing it, he took a small sip, walked over to the window, opened it, and spat the water out.

Aerith saw then the reason for his silence, for the water he had just spit out was entriely red. _He was afraid he would frighten me even more if I saw the blood in his mouth._ she realized.

When Vincent had sat back down in his chair, Aerith decided to ask a question that had been bothering her for several hours. "Vincent, w-what was that creature I saw earlier? What happened?"

Vincent gave a resigned sigh. "I may as well get to the point. Aerith, I have four demons existing within me. Galian, Death Gigas, Hellmasker, and Chaos. The first three I can control, and only come out when I want them to, but Chaos is a lot harder to handle."

"So the fiend I saw earlier was Chaos." Aerith stated, catching on.

"Yes."

"Have I seen any of the others?"

"You may or may not remember seeing Galian, considering that you were falling unconscious at the time. It was that form you saw me in when I saved you because he is the weakest and easiest to control."

Aerith suddenly remembered how strong Galian was. If it was the weakest, she was sure she didn't to be on the receiving end of Chaos's strength.

Vincent looked down, and muttered, "I owe you more explanation than this, but I don't think I can tell you today."

Aerith nodded. "It's okay. I understand. You've been through enough for today.

She looked through the window, and saw that the sun had set while she was cleaning Vincent up.

Vincent understood the glance, and said, "You're tired."

Aerith nodded, but looked concernedly at Vincent.

"You take the bed." Vincent offered. "I'll sleep elsewhere."

"Vincent, please, you take the bed. It's your house. I couldn't-"

"I insist."

Aerith looked surprised at this, and quietly said, "Okay. Good night, Vincent."

"Good night." Vincent wished back.

Aerith walked into the adjoining bedroom, and laid down gently on the bed. She turned over, and closed her eyes to go to sleep.

A few moments later, she heard the door open very quietly, and footsteps approaching the bed. She felt the tips of Vincent's fingers brushing a few stray hairs into place, and had to keep herself from smiling.

_He acts so much like my father doing that._ she thought amusedly, remembering how she was always tucked in by her father.

Then, so softly that she was scarcely sure she heard him, Vincent whispered, "Sweet dreams, Aerith... my angel."

When Vincent finally exited the room and shut the door, Aerith gave a contented sigh, and went to sleep for the night.

---

Sephiroth looked out upon the starry night with a small smirk on his face. In his left hand, he clasped the fake Black Materia that the Wutain king had given him to prevent him from taking his daughter.

_Wutai shall pay for their lies._ Sephiroth thought angrily, pressing against the worthless thing, until suddenly, it shattered.

Sephiroth was surprised at this, and gazed at the mirrored insides of the shattered sphere, seeing a fragmented reflection of his face. He continued to look at it, for he saw something different about his eyes. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the pupils of his intensely green eyes were not round, as they were before, but slit, like a cat's eyes.

He looked away from the pieces, and closed his eyes.

_It matters not what changes in appearance I go through now, so long as I have what I want in the end: power._

He chuckled grimly, and opened his eyes, looking up at the ceiling.

_Once I have the Materia Trinity, I will efface the very __memory__ of the proud nation of Wutai. Once they're gone, the Cetran Kingdom will feel my wrath, and soon afterward, all of Gaia will grovel at my feet! When the Trinity's power is mine, __nothing__ will stop me! Muahahahahaha. Nyahahahahahahahahaha. A- __HA__HAHAHAHAHA!!!_

---

**Sephiroth: **AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

**IluvAUs:** OK, Seph, you can stop now! Anyways, can you say 'DUN DUN DUN'? I'll update as soon as I can, so please review in the meantime.


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